Inside a quiet study, Tang Ru set down the jade slip in his hand, looking thoroughly excited.
The fact that Li Guanqi had contacted him through the jade slip meant he didn't hold the previous incident against him too much.
After putting down the jade slip, Tang Ru took a deep breath. Order after order was promptly issued, all for a single purpose: to gather three thousand stalks of Demon Slaying Flowers as quickly as possible!
Over at the Great Xia Sword Sect, action had begun as well. One cold pool after another was excavated and constructed in rapid succession.
Elder after elder throughout the sect moved mountain rocks and dug deep pools.
The elders of Tianshui Peak were practically running themselves ragged. Lu Kangnian also ordered men to fetch ice crystal stones from the treasury to pave the bottom of the cold pools.
Sun Miao and Gu Yan were equally rushed off their feet. Sun Miao summoned all of his disciples and honorary disciples, marshaling the strength of every available alchemist. On top of that, he contacted medicine merchants to procure the other supplementary ingredients required for concocting the pills.
Not only that, but he went so far as to lay down three whole medium-grade spiritual veins directly upon Tianzhu Peak!
Watching the elderly man hovering in midair and directing the sect's disciples, the Great Xia Sword Sect disciples were completely bewildered. They wondered when the sect had acquired such an elder, as none of them had ever seen him before.
The old man directed everyone to haul over alchemy furnaces, stationed the dark purple flame right in the belly of Tianzhu Peak, and tossed out over a dozen array discs to construct a top-tier temporary fire pit.
He intended to have all the alchemists use this companion flame to refine the pills.
Soon, alchemists arrived one after another, tearing through the air, each carrying the necessary medicines.
Not a single one among them had a cultivation below the Nascent Soul stage. Seeing the old man working in such a state, every one of them wore an expression of sheer disbelief.
The only person who had it easy was Li Guanqi.
At that moment, Li Guanqi sat atop the summit of Yuhu Peak, his eyes narrowed.
A chessboard seemed to be shifting pieces continuously within his gaze, a cold glint flickering in the depths of his eyes.
He could not help but snort coldly, bone-chilling murderous intent rippling across the void!
*Buzz!*
The jade slip in Li Guanqi's hand faintly flickered with light. Rising to his feet, he took a step and vanished from the spot.
With a wave of his hand, he opened a gap in the rear mountain's protective barrier.
The space before him rippled slightly, followed by a pitch-black rift abruptly tearing open.
A black-robed elder slowly stepped out from the void.
Li Guanqi smiled slightly and said softly, "I've troubled you, Elder Qian."
The old man was none other than Tang Ru's Dao protector, Qian Feng.
Upon seeing Li Guanqi, the elder bowed respectfully, then presented four storage rings and a jade slip with both hands.
Qian Feng looked up at Li Guanqi and chuckled softly. "Fortunately, I did not fail the mission."
Li Guanqi cupped his fists solemnly in return, then handed over a storage ring packed with spirit stones.
Seeing this, the elder hastily raised a hand to decline, but Li Guanqi said, "I know that gathering such a terrifying quantity of Demon Slaying Flowers in such a short time must have come at a heavy cost. You must take this money!"
The elder considered it and did not refuse, for he knew very well just how steep a price Tang Ru had paid to assemble these Demon Slaying Flowers!
Accepting the storage rings and jade slip, Li Guanqi pondered for a moment, then turned his palm to retrieve a jade vial.
Inside this jade vial was a drop of Jiuxiao's blood essence, diluted a hundredfold, which he had not finished absorbing the last time.
Li Guanqi placed a seal upon the jade vial and said softly with a solemn face, "Please pass this to Tang Ru, and tell him that no one else is permitted to see what's inside. Consider it a gift from me."
Qian Feng reverently took the jade vial with both hands and stowed it away in his storage ring.
Naturally, he noticed the seal Li Guanqi had placed; should anyone other than Tang Ru attempt to open it, it would detonate instantly.
"What is this jade slip?"
The elder said softly, "Inside is information regarding Juexian Mountain, as well as its location."
Li Guanqi smiled. "The fatso is as clever as ever. I won't say more for now; the sect disciples are all waiting for the Demon Slaying Flowers to save their lives. Tell Fatty that next time, I'll treat him to drinks."
The elder nodded with a smile and cupped his fists in farewell.
*Buzz!*
Taking a single stride, Li Guanqi arrived at Tianzhu Peak. Seeing over a dozen alchemists sitting cross-legged before alchemy furnaces, even he was deeply shaken.
Even when the Great Xia Sword Sect had been at the peak of its glory in the past, not a single alchemist had ever volunteered to join the sect.
Yet now, merely tying down a single Sun Miao had brought so many people along!
Li Guanqi handed the four storage rings to Sun Miao and said in a heavy voice, "The Demon Slaying Flowers are all inside. What comes next... I leave in your hands!"
By this point, many alchemists had recognized Li Guanqi. Their eyes gleamed as they murmured among themselves.
"What a Blood Slaughterer Venerable—to think he is so young."
Another disciple of Sun Miao, who looked like a withered, ancient man, muttered, "I truly don't understand why Master would stoop to becoming a guest elder in a mere sword sect."
Yet the moment those words left his mouth, the person beside him cried with a bitter grimace, "Look! Take a damned look down there! It's the companion flame of a heavenly flame!"
Sun Miao swept his senses roughly through the jade slip and gasped in astonishment. "Three thousand six hundred stalks! Hiss! It's enough! Rest assured, leave the rest to me!"
With that, the old man turned around, swept his wide sleeves, and barked, "Ignite the furnaces!"
*Boom!*
In an instant, over a dozen towering pillars of fire erupted into blazing fury!
Scorching flames surged into the alchemy furnaces, turning the previously pitch-black metal faintly crimson.
Li Guanqi frowned as he sensed the heat, then spoke up abruptly. "Is this... using only the flame's inherent power?"
He had originally thought these alchemists would use their own primal energy flames. But the current setup was like communal cooking—everyone drew the ambient fire into their furnaces, only altering it once it entered.
Sun Miao explained, "The flames they possess are either their own innate fires or beast flames harvested from rare beasts. The source strength of their flames is nowhere near that of this companion flame. Doing it this way drastically speeds up the extraction of medicinal herbs."
Hearing that, Li Guanqi shrugged and murmured, "In that case, why not just use my flame?"
The chubby old man froze on the spot, slapped his own forehead, and cursed under his breath. "Right! Why didn't I think of that?! Hahahaha, quick, quick, quick! Today, I'll let you all experience refining pills with a heavenly flame!"
Li Guanqi chuckled. With a wave of his hand, a pillar of fire a full zhang thick plunged straight beneath Tianzhu Peak!
*Boom!*
Immediately afterward, twelve pillars of fire soared directly into the clouds, blasting the standard-issue alchemy cauldrons into utter dust—leaving not even a scrap behind!
The blistering heat caused the temperature across the entire territory of the Great Xia Sword Sect to skyrocket instantly!
The water levels of eight hundred rivers evaporated by three inches in the blink of an eye.
Terrified, Sun Miao flailed his hands in a panic, desperately casting streaks of red spiritual light to suppress the blaze. Yet the flames paid him no heed whatsoever.
He discovered that he couldn't budge the fire in the slightest.
All the old man could do was turn his head and plead, "Young friend... control yourself..."
Chapter 405